Drop cookies can be made using a rotary molder. The rotary molder provides a drum or belt having cavities of the shape desired for the cookie to be baked. At one point in the motion of the belt or drum, these cavities are filled with cookie dough of the desired formulation. Further travel of the belt or drum of the rotary molder then transfers the dough in the filled cavities to a moving belt or band in contact with one in close proximity to it. Preferential adherence of the dough to the belt or band causes the dough deposited in the rotary molder cavities to be transferred to the belt or band, by which they are transported through a continuous oven for baking.
In the manufacture of other cookies, dough is deposited directly on the belt or band by extrusion of discrete deposits of dough via extrusion dies of the desired shape. Still other cookies are made by co-extrusion processes, by forming a sheet of dough from which is cut the desired shapes, and, finally, by lamination of already baked cookie portions with fillings, icings, marshmallow creme, and the like.
A variety of equipment is available to perform dough forming and handling during manufacturing processes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,948,870, issued Feb. 27, 1934, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,970,336, issued Aug. 14, 1934, both to Pointon and Harber and assigned to Baker Perkins Co., Inc., are directed to dough forming apparatus comprising open top cups or rings which move in an orbital path to form a dough piece which is confined therein. A stated objective is to mold the dough pieces into ball or sphere-like formation by the employment of a row of molding cups or rings, which are given orbital balling movements of variable amplitude about the axis of each cup. A support surface for the dough pieces is positioned opposite the molding rings and can be periodically advanced stepwise so that dough pieces rolled by one row of cups or rings are in position for treatment by the next row of cups or rings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,714, issued Dec. 28, 1965 to Gaskell, discloses improved moulding rings and closed top cups for use in forming dough products. The cups appear to be intended for use on apparatus of the type generally disclosed in the Pointon et al. patents. The cups are provided with dough-working ribs having a substantial axial directional component to provide undulations which are so shaped as to knead or work a dough piece as the cups are moved in a gyratory motion. The gyratory movement and internal taper of the cup urges the dough downwardly onto the conveyor so as to assure its effective molding adhesion thereto, while the ribs on the interior of the cup work over the external surface of the dough, leaving air spaces between the dough and the ribs, which reduce any tendency of the dough to stick to the mold. A multiple cup unit for carrying a plurality of detachable cups of various sizes is also described.
While it is clear from the foregoing and other, similar references that methods and apparatus for rolling pieces of dough-like product are known in the art, it is significant that none of the foregoing references are directed to the rolling of laminated dough pieces wherein the objective is to simulate drop cookies, such as made by the rotary molder technique. It is also significant that none of the foregoing references are directed to multi-layer products, wherein the objective is to provide substantially uniform encapsulation of an inner portion of dough within a distinct outer layer of dough. In addition, none of the foregoing references disclose rolling of multi-layered doughs to control the appearance of flavored chips or other morsels in the baked product.
Europen patent application No. 31,718, Hong and Brabbs, filed Dec. 23, 1980 and published July 8, 1981, which is herein incorporated by reference, describes the manufacture of laminated cookies which combine different doughs to produce a product whose long-term texture mimics that of freshly baked cookies. The cookies are made from laminated dough structures formed by a variety of techniques. These techniques include (1) enveloping an inner dough within a layer of a second outer dough by hand crimping discs of outer dough around a ball of inner dough, (2) layering sheets of two or more alternating doughs previously cut to the appropriate size, (3) layering large sheets of two or more alternating doughs and then cutting into pieces, (4) laminating one or more doughs onto the top of, or a portion of the top of, a distinct dough, (5) embedding particles of one or more doughs into a distinct dough (6) winding strands of one or more doughs onto the surface of a ball of a distinct dough, (7) laminating alternating sheets of two or more doughs, rolling, and slicing, or (8) co-extruding two or more doughs on a Rheon.RTM. encrusting machine, by which inner and outer doughs are co-extruded simultaneously and concentrically by the machine, and the outer dough wraps around the inner dough and is formed by an encrusting disk into a ball which is then baked.
It has now been determined that for some of the above laminating techniques, rolling of the dough pieces prior to baking results in cookies of improved appearance and quality. Rolling of the dough pieces prior to baking is essential for any laminating technique where the dough is not formed into the shape of a ball. The latter includes, for example, co-extrusion of the doughs in a continuous form which when cut yields rectangular segments or other shapes not spherical or hemispherical in form, a sheet/deposit/sheet/cut process wherein a first layer of dough is formed into a sheet upon which inner dough pieces are deposited and covered with a second sheet of the first or a third dough, and cut to a shape not spherical or hemispherical in form, and other equivalent processes which generate a dough piece which is not round, hemispherical, or spherical in shape.
It has now been determined that cookies of the Hong and Brabbs type made from processes generating dough pieces which are not round or spherical in shape have different baking dynamics from cookies of the Hong and Brabbs type made from rounded doughballs. The product resulting from these processes can have thinner, crisper edges than a typical drop cookie, or a cookie made by a rotary molder having hemispherical cavities. This is due to the requirement of a finite amount of perimeter space needed to seal the upper and lower dough sheets or outer dough around the inner dough. A lack of inner dough at the edges where the upper and lower dough sheets meet and seal can result in the formation of thin, crisp edges during baking which are often darker in color. Likewise, a lack of inner dough in the corners of dough pieces of rectangular or other geometric shapes yields the same undesirable result. These thin, crisp edges contribute to product breakage and reduced consumer acceptance. At the same time, use of laminating processes can result in decreased visibility on the surface of the finished product of chips or morsels contained in the inner dough. This also contributes to reduced consumer acceptance.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to prevent the formation of undesirable crisp, thin edges on laminated cookies made from dough pieces not rounded, hemispherical, or spherical in shape.
It is a further object of this invention to provide substantially spherical or substantially hemispherical laminated dough pieces made by extrusion, co-extrusion, sheet/deposit/sheet/cut, or other equivalent methods.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a process for rolling dough which provides substantially uniform encapsulation of an inner piece of dough within a distinct outer layer of dough.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a process for rolling dough which controls the degree of visibility of flavored chips or other morsels in the baked product.
These and other objectives of the invention will be evident from the following disclosure: